proposed teacher leadership framework
TRANSCRIPT
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Kentucky Teacher Leadership Work Team
PROPOSED TEACHER LEADERSHIP
FRAMEWORK
Under Construction!
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Kentucky Teacher Leadership Work Team
PROPOSED TEACHER LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
This draft document represents the work of a team of educators representing various grant projects
and organizations, including: KyNT3 Network to Transform Teaching administered through the
Educational Professional Standards Board, Instructional Transformation Grant administered through
the Kentucky Department of Education, CTL - the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning, The Fund
KY, the Kentucky Education Association, Hope Street Group, and the Bluegrass Center for Teacher
Quality.
With credit to/permission from CSTP Teacher Leadership Skills Framework 2009.
Additional sources consulted: TLI’s Teacher Leadership Competencies 2014, Teacher Leader Model Standards 2012, ISLLC Draft Standards 2014, Leading Educators Framework 2014, Iowa TLC System, and Boston Teacher
Leadership Certificate Program.
______________________________________
KyNT3 is funded by a US Department of Education Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED)
grant and is implemented by a local partnership of the Education Professional Standards Board,
Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Education Association and the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards.
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Teacher Leadership Framework Introduction
Goodwin (1994) introduced the notion of professional vision, which he defined as “socially organized ways of
seeing and understanding events that are answerable to the distinctive interests of a particular social group”
(p. 606). Teacher leaders represent such a social group. As such, teacher leaders need to work together and
work with others to be able to highlight features of effective pedagogical practice, label productive and
unproductive relationships with key stakeholders, and produce artifacts from their leadership efforts that
others can use to find their way to change and improvement. The implication of Goodwin’s notion for teacher
leadership is that if a community of teacher leaders can learn to see as (professional vision), then they are
better able to see differently (a vision for leadership). Additionally, if teacher leaders want others to support
the innovations that the teacher leaders wish to bring to classrooms and to schools, then they need to help
others see things the way that they do so that the reason for, logic of, and pathway to innovation will make
more sense to these others.
Below is the teacher leadership framework diagram; how should that be ‘seen’? It is likely typical for people to
view the 6 categories as hierarchical, so that a teacher leader’s trajectory would involve extending her or his
sphere of influence through the more encompassing components of the categories. However, there is value in
seeing this in a different way. The six categories can represent six nested communities of practice or aspects of
practice that each influence and are influenced by the others. Looking at the framework through this lens, the
categories are interrelated, so that leadership activity in any one category will impinge on and have
implications for the other categories. This view also suggests that as a group(s) of teacher leaders works to see
things more cogently and understand practice more deeply within one of the spheres, they will be able to
apply those lessons to other spheres. For instance, as one learns how to better build relationships and lead
groups and teams, then one will likely be able to lead within the classroom better by creating more productive
learning environments.
Dr. Brett Criswell
Clinical Assistant Professor, STEM Education
University of Kentucky
May 2015
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Kentucky Network to Transform Teaching
PROPOSED TEACHER LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
Mission of Teacher Leadership:
Elevate teachers as experts and leaders in and beyond the classroom.
Definition of Teacher Leadership:
Teacher leaders transform their classrooms, schools, and profession, activating teacher growth and achieving
equity and excellence for students.
Framework Spheres:
The framework contains six spheres or dimensions, each describing a set of dispositions, core beliefs,
knowledge base, requisite skills and unique roles for teacher leaders. While the spheres are interrelated, with
each one broadening the stage for teacher leadership, it is not expected that individual teachers will fulfill
every role. Rather, these six spheres suggest multiple roles for teacher leaders.
Leading to Connect to Larger Community and World
Leading to Professionalize Teaching
Leading to Increase Teacher Voice and
Influence
Leading Groups and Teams
Leading through Modeling and
Coaching
Leading from the
Classroom
Teacher Leadership
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Leading from the Classroom: developing capacities of students and self
Includes: Make decisions that reflect best practice and responsiveness to student needs; model positive
learning and leadership behaviors for students; use theory to reflect upon and improve practice; increase
knowledge and qualifications, e.g., NBCT
Core Beliefs:
o Students’ intellectual capacity develops through their learning environment.
o The role of the teacher is to gradually release responsibility for learning to the
student.
o Developing sound thinking skills prepares students for college and career.
o Teachers must model intellectual curiosity and love of learning if they want their
students to possess these traits.
o Teachers have craft knowledge born of experience that informs their actions.
o Learning must engage the heart as well as the mind.
Knowledge and Skills:
o Understand current research on effective practice including Danielson’s Framework
for Teaching that supports effective practice.
o Apply content standards and curriculum frameworks.
o Make adjustments to accommodate students’ individual learning needs and
interests.
o Employ a variety of strategies to support authentic learning, formative assessment
and student engagement.
o Understand and apply knowledge of how students learn.
o Facilitate a student-centered classroom environment.
o Posses cultural competency.
o Use listening to and questioning of students in ways that stretch students’ thinking and makes them feel valued.
o Collect and analyze student data to make instructional decisions.
o Engage with technology to support instruction, make connections and locate resources.
Vignette:
Susan is learning to let her high school Science students take initiative for
designing and conducting experiments, as well as demonstrating what
they have learned. Prior to engaging with and earning National Board
Certification, Susan was more likely to explain scientific concepts, provide
students with data to analyze, and lead them through experiments. Over
the past semester she has put more trust in the abilities of her students,
and has stepped back to let them learn through doing the work rather
than hearing about how to do it from her. This approach has allowed her
to offer guidance and instruction as needed, and also to gather formative
assessment data during class, which informs her design of subsequent
lessons. Moreover, she is documenting the changes she makes and their
impact on student learning to share with her colleagues.
Reflection:
1. What did Susan need to understand about leadership to allow her to
delegate more responsibility for learning to her students?
2. What strategies might Susan use to have her students act more like scientists, actively engaged in experimental design?
3. How might Susan share what she is learning with her colleagues in ways that would provide them with new insights?
Dispositions: Approach
classroom learning from a
student’s point of view and plan
accordingly. Provide
opportuntiies for students to
make meaning and create new
knowledge. Invest planning and
instruction with passion and
energy. Reflect on personal
effectiveness and continually
strive to improve. Seek out and
embrace new learning
opportunities. Learn from
colleagues.
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Leading through Modeling and Coaching: developing capacities of peers
Includes: The role of peer observer as envisioned under PGES, as well as mentoring new teachers,
coaching to strengthen classroom practice, or sharing expertise in implementing new instructional models
Core Beliefs:
o Teacher learning is interwoven with student learning.
o Teachers must experience new practices and models of learning to implement
them effectively.
o Learning is socially constructed and based on prior knowledge and experience.
o Inquiry-based approaches foster growth.
Knowledge and Skills:
o Model and promote reflective practice.
o Create a safe environment for teachers to take risks.
o Develop trusting and reciprocal relationships.
o Provide specific feedback on strengths and weaknesses.
o Consult research on both student and adult learning.
o Understand theoretical frameworks for teaching.
o Incorporate cognitive coaching models that emphasize inquiry to guide teachers in
improving their practice.
o Demonstrate interpersonal effectiveness including empathy, warmth and
humility.
o Collect, analyze and use data to support teacher practice.
o Maximize effectiveness by using technology to collaborate.
Vignette:
Malik is a classroom teacher who also spends part of his time facilitating faculty-wide, job embedded professional development
and acting as a peer observer for PGES implementation. While he has thoroughly immersed himself in Danielson’s Framework
for Teaching, he is new to coaching peers. A well-respected teacher himself,
Malik is confident that some of the inquiry-based approaches he uses in the
classroom will apply to his new role. He has also thought carefully about the
useful feedback from his principal and wants to make sure that in supporting
other teachers he is adding value and helping them achieve desired results. He
knows there is a natural tension between new learning and established practice
and concludes that learning alongside his colleagues and eliciting their feedback
on his effectiveness will model the kind of behavioral norms he hopes to
establish in others.
Reflection:
1. How can Malik incorporate inquiry-based approaches into his role as peer
observer?
2. What strategies and understandings are necessary for Malik to deal
effectively with resistance he may encounter from peers?
3. What kind of relationship-building will cultivate honest and constructive
reciprocal feedback?
Dispositions: Value the work
of learners. Acknowledge
professional expertise. Presume
positive intent, that all are
working in the best interest of
students. Expect honest and
respectful communication and
offer it in return. Recognize
progress made.
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Leading Groups and Teams: contributing to positive school change to enhance student
learning
Includes: Take a key role in leading school initiatives, facilitating teacher work groups, and encouraging
teacher collaboration
Core Beliefs:
o Those closest to the classroom should be instrumental in designing and
implementing reform strategies.
o Collaboration builds collective knowledge and increased effectiveness.
o School-led initiatives take into account local context and needs.
o Solutions can be found within the expertise of the faculty.
o Data from a variety of sources inform school improvement efforts.
Knowledge and Skills:
o Manage diverse views and resolve conflict.
o Build and use collaboration norms when facilitating groups.
o Possess facilitation and organizational skills including recording and
communicating progress.
o Draw on research, protocols and resources.
o Share responsibility and leadership, serving as catalyst of others’ leadership.
o Model listening, synthesizing and reflecting.
o Engage in data-driven dialogue.
o Build community in face-to-face and virtual environments.
Vignette:
Lynette and Mike were early adopters of project-based learning at their middle school. With several colleagues they formed an
interdisciplinary team, planning units that tied math, science, English and art standards together and involving local businesses
in helping students with product development. Based on their initial success, they have assumed leadership for implementing
project-based learning with two additional teams of teachers at their school. They have a weekly meeting structure to provide
time for support, idea sharing, and feedback on student project designs, using Participating in a Professional Community
descriptors from PGES/Danielson’s Framework for Teaching Domain 4.
They’ve taken responsibility for helping the new implementers with
resources and with making community connections based on their own
experiences and, when needed, enlisting administrative support. They’ve
also made themselves available to help colleagues think through how to shift
to an inquiry-based classroom without feeling overwhelmed by new roles
and different ways of teaching.
Reflection:
1. How can Lynette and Mike establish an open and collegial context
for beginning this work?
2. What kinds of support might the two new teams of teachers need
as they implement project-based learning for the first time?
3. What kinds of accommodations of time and classroom
responsibilities will Lynette and Mike, full-time teachers themselves, need to
support their colleagues in implementing new classroom structures and
practices?
Dispositions: Honor diverse
views. Draw inspiration from
working in collaboration with
others. Ensure straightforward
and transparent
communication. Work from a
solutions orientation. Foster
community
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Leading to Increase Teacher Voice and Influence: working to enlarge teachers’ role in
decision-making at the school and district level and in concert with administrators
Includes: Participate on school or district leadership team that supports and monitors program
implementation; recommend changes in policy and practice; or help to create pathways for teachers as
leaders who remain in the classroom
Core Beliefs:
o Improvement efforts honor teachers’ perspectives, experiences and ideas.
o Changes in policy and practice are achieved through engaging teachers and other
stakeholders.
o Leadership is strengthened when distributed across role groups.
o There is tangible benefit to teachers remaining in the classroom and providing
leadership beyond the classroom.
o Teacher leadership grows through intentional, well-defined efforts.
Knowledge and Skills:
o Articulate shared vision and goals.
o Act in an open and transparent manner.
o Anticipate emerging trends to shape school or district decision-making.
o Ask deep, clarifying questions and promote a culture of professional inquiry.
o Seek and engage in non-evaluative, reflective dialogue.
o Take initiative to assume leadership roles.
o Uphold highest levels of honesty, integrity and confidentiality.
o Challenge negative attitudes to ensure all students are honored.
o Understand and work within systems.
o Strive for accountability and sustainability.
o Facilitate group decision-making using research, data and evidence.
o Use technology to build networks that unite diverse groups and interests.
Vignette:
Mario is a teacher leader who is held in high esteem by both teachers and
administrators for his ability to express his thoughts clearly and to
represent the best interests of his peers. He serves on the district PGES
implementation committee. Knowing that evaluation can create anxiety
in teachers who want to be assessed fairly and recognized for their
efforts, Mario has taken this concern seriously and will advocate for a
process that supports ongoing professional growth. He has been
instrumental in helping the district determine how to support teachers in
meeting evaluation goals, seeking out teacher opinions and suggestions.
Because his colleagues value shared reflection on practice, Mario has led
the committee to craft and adopt a policy that supports teacher voice in
the evaluation process.
Reflection:
1. What does Mario need to do to prepare for entering into discussions about district policy?
2. How can Mario best communicate the need to embed in evaluation policy an emphasis on professional growth?
3. How can Mario work to ensure that teacher voice is heard in other policy discussions?
Dispositions: Generalize
beyond own experiences. Honor
all perspectives. Presume
positive intent. Value
professional expertise. Foster
community. Persevere in
difficult situations. Think and
act flexibly.
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Leading to Professionalize Teaching: reforming educational systems to create greater
opportunities for teachers to learn and lead beyond the local level
Includes: Work to foster systems change, by serving on a state task force, participating in a regional or
national teacher leadership network, or advising institutions of higher education on teacher preparation
Core Beliefs:
o Teachers contribute to new ways of thinking about education reform.
o Teacher participation strengthens state, regional and national efforts to achieve
student equity and excellence.
o Teacher networks provide opportunity to learn with and from colleagues across
locales.
o As credentialed professionals, teachers are in a unique position to make
suggestions for teacher preparation program quality and responsiveness, as well as
working conditions, role definition and policies.
Knowledge and Skills:
o Seek out and energize colleagues.
o Focus on authenticity and relevance.
o Deal effectively with resistance.
o Disseminate information equitably.
o Use the power of language to communicate ideas and inspire action.
o Draw on emerging trends and research to shape or influence systems.
o Navigate change in the midst of ambiguity and competing demands and interests.
o Work within and across systems.
o Advocate with policy makers.
o Organize communities to advocate for educational interests and priorities.
o Understand current research and apply data to a variety of contexts.
o Use emergent technologies to maximize time and impact.
Vignette:
Clark ‘s school is participating in a multi-district project designed to learn how
teacher leadership can be implemented to promote faculty growth and student
achievement. He serves on the project steering committee, which has
responsibility for overall development of new teacher roles across participating
districts. With his own teacher preparation program only six years behind him, he
is especially interested in how colleges and universities can embed teacher
leadership knowledge and skills into their programs, so that students complete
their certification with a larger sense of their role which includes the classroom,
school, and profession. In the process of data gathering, Clark hears about a
national teacher leader network and becomes an active member, taking
advantage of the opportunity to learn about related policies and practices, to
collaborate with educators around the country, and to contribute to a national
dialogue on teacher leadership.
Reflection:
1. How can Clark best communicate what he is learning at the national level to colleagues in his district and the districts
participating in the teacher leadership project?
2. How might Clark use his expertise to develop teacher leader roles?
3. What are ways Clark can influence teacher preparation programs in his state and how does he initiate this process?
Dispositions: Interest in the
bigger picture. Attuned to
relationships. Embrace
opportunity to work with others
who have diverse views.
Cultural competence. Risk
taking. Self-efficacy. Honest,
courageous communication.
Resiliency. Willingness to speak
on behalf of others.
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Leading to Connect to the Larger Community or World: expanding the world of the school
beyond the classroom
Includes: Engage business and industry with the school or district in authentic ways; connect teachers with
broader world including fundraising, outreach, and collaboration with other groups; bring community
resources into the classroom
Core Beliefs:
o Teachers and their schools are part of a larger community infrastructure, making
collaboration beneficial and necessary.
o Schools are founded on the notion that an educated citizenry will preserve our
democracy, giving everyone in the community a stake in successful schools.
o Part of teacher leadership is working with stakeholders within and beyond the
school.
o Collaboration with the larger community brings additional talent and resources
into the school.
o Technology can span distance and connect students and teachers to a larger world.
Knowledge and Skills:
o Garner support from and work with community stakeholders.
o Work in structures and contexts outside of education.
o Facilitate collective inquiry processes and decision making.
o Seek resources, information and corporate investment beyond the school.
o Craft and deliver an effective message.
o Use data effectively to inform goal setting, monitoring and reporting of progress.
o Use technology to connect students with those geographically distant.
Vignette:
DaJea teaches in a large urban district in a city engaged in redefining itself and recommiting to developing a competitive and
well-educated workforce. To date, the school district has played a small role in city-wide improvement efforts, and DaJea and
her colleagues feel that both their school and district are missing an opportunity to contribute to the development of a new
framework for city advancement. In a bold move, she and the teachers on her grade-level team email the mayor’s office and
ask if their school can become a case study for community engagement to show how community resources can broaden school
efforts to prepare students for secondary school, and in turn, how students can design
and implement projects that add value to the city. The mayor is intrigued and puts
DaJea and colleagues in touch with a cultural arts group that is actively involved in the
city’s effort to make the arts more visible and enhance the image of the city. What
emerges is a project for creating an arts walking tour of existing outdoor art, to which
the students are adding their own sculptures and murals. Local artists have joined
students in DaJea’s classroom, making art together and giving her students a window
into the process of creating products that have both beauty and purpose.
Reflection:
1. DaJea and her team have set their own course; what skills and dispositions
have enabled them to take the first and subsequent steps?
2. What kinds of administrative support and accommodations are needed to
enable students to work on a community enhancement project?
3. How might engaging local artists and other community members with
students become standard practice?
Dispositions: Openness to
working with those outside the
field of education to achieve
common purposes. Appreciate
diverse views and experiences.
Able to compromise. Willing to
admit own limitations and learn
from others. Recognize patterns
and trends. Inspire others to
support and improve education.
WORKING DRAFT May 23, 2015
Your comments and suggestions are
welcomed!
Contact:
Lauren Hill: [email protected]
Teacherpreneur, NT3 (Network to Transform Teaching)
Dr. Deborah Walker: [email protected]
President and CEO, CTL (Collaborative for Teaching and Learning)
Still to Come:
Administrator Policy and Practice Resources
Case Studies of Teacher Leaders
Roles for Teacher Leaders
Links to Resources:
Supporting and Staffing High-Needs Schools
Teacherpreneurs
Classroom Coaches Critical as Teachers Shift to Common Core
YouTube on Teacher Leadership
Finding Your Voice: Teacher Leadership
Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation System
Creating Sustainable Teacher Career Pathways
Teacher Leaders: Leading the Way to Effective Teaching and Learning
Hope Street Group
Our Future, Our Teachers
Boston Public Schools Engage Families to Help Turn Schools Around
The Importance of Community Involvement in Schools